Friday night the festival kicks off in epic fashion on the Jimmy Lyons stage of the Main Arena. Franco-Haitian-American phenom Cécile McLorin Salvant‘s US début album Womanchild (2013) blew listeners away with her command

Though the throngs of festival-goers have yet to arrive, KUSP’s MJF presence is now operational under the eaves outside the mighty Monterey County Fairgrounds Arena, inside which Festival staff has erected the Jimmy Lyons

By Jeff Dayton-Johnson | KUSP – Two bold young trumpeters stand out in the crowded roster of musicians appearing at this year’s Monterey Jazz Festival. Oakland born Ambrose Akinmusire (aged 30) is the Artist-in-Residence